After trying skirts a few times, I realized they seemed to go with practically anything.

Once, they’d been workwear for men in ancient times and garments reserved for Old World nobles.

Take the plaid skirt I bought for my graduation ceremony. It worked with ordinary T-shirts, button-ups, hoodies, and jackets without looking out of place.

Of course, “goes with anything” only applied if the wearer was a girl—and her legs couldn’t look too bad.

“Wifey Xiaorui, I’m off to work.”

When I first met Lu Yun a few days ago, I’d worn that bear hoodie with shorts.

To keep things from looking too different, I’d deliberately swapped the shorts for a short skirt.

Underneath, I wore soft, sheer tights—the kind girls called “bare-leg tights.”

I added white lace-trimmed ankle socks, then went straight for Rem’s round-toed maid shoes.

That way, once Lu Yun left, I could put on my garters and maid outfit without changing shoes.

“Xiaoxue, why don’t you take the day off?”

Seeing me dressed in another cute outfit and ready to leave, Chen Xiaorui finally couldn’t hold back.

“Ever since you came back from the hospital, you’ve barely had a single free day.”

“You finish your orders, come back to the dorm, and still study. You even run every morning and evening.”

“That’s way too exhausting.”

I turned around and teased, “Is my wifey worried about me?”

“I’m not worried about you! I just think you’re pushing yourself too hard!”

Chen Xiaorui turned her head away on the bed.

“We’ve only been in school for a few months. Ever since the accident and your return from the hospital, you’ve been like a different person.”

“I do think this version of Xiaoxue is cuter, but…”

“I really suggest taking a break once in a while. Can’t you turn down some of those orders?”

“It’s fine. I sneak in little breaks whenever I can.”

I waved at Chen Xiaorui and walked out of the dorm.

“Wifey Xiaorui, Wifey Yuqing, and Wifey Qiqi, I’m leaving!”

Then Zhou Mengya’s voice came from the dorm behind me.

“What about me?”

Jiang Yuqing immediately teased her.

“Your yin energy’s too strong, Mengya. Even Xiaoxue’s scared of you! Hahaha!”

“Oh, Yuqing, come here. Let’s spar, and I’ll show you what a body of ultimate yin looks like…”

These girls…

They were still just a bunch of little girls, weren’t they?

After heading downstairs, I quietly thought to myself.

Everyone wanted to rest. Living creatures naturally sought comfort and avoided pain.

But after everything I’d been through, I understood that all effort and sacrifice eventually settled into place.

It was like Tetris.

The correct pieces vanished and became points.

The mistakes kept piling up.

I was at the crucial stage of building good habits.

If I didn’t force myself to work and study hard now, I feared my future self would become lazy and complacent.

Both my looks and figure were exceptional.

There’d be no shortage of sweet words and sugarcoated temptations in my life.

Even if I didn’t work hard, my future probably wouldn’t be too bad.

If I got truly lazy, I could marry some rich guy and never worry about food or clothing.

But if I actually did that, I might never forgive myself.

It’d be like seeing a beautiful young woman littering and scribbling graffiti all over the walls.

If I didn’t work hard, I’d truly feel like I was wasting Bi Xinxue’s incredible natural gifts.

So keep it up, Xiaoxue.

“You’re here early today.”

It took me over ten minutes to reach Rabbit Nest Café.

The moment I opened the door, Lan Yueke approached me in her maid outfit.

“Did the manager extend your shift?”

“No. I’m meeting a client here.”

I scanned the café but didn’t see Lu Yun. Then I glanced toward the stairs leading to the second floor.

“He happened to choose this place for our date.”

Lan Yueke thought for a moment.

“Could it be Nuomi’s owner?”

“Nuomi?”

It took me a while to remember that name from something Lu Yun had once told me.

“He brought his cat here?”

“Yeah. He came this morning and spent ages discussing it with the manager.”

“He wants to board his cat with us.”

Lan Yueke looked rather helpless.

“At first, the manager thought a few days would be fine.”

“But then he said it’d be several months. He might not return until the Spring Festival.”

“Is he upstairs?”

“Yeah. Table 214 on the second floor. He’s talking to the manager.”

“I’ll go take a look.”

I followed the familiar stairs to the second floor and found the table marked 214.

Just as Lan Yueke had said, Lu Yun and Lin Ruilong were sitting there, talking about something.

Beside them, a white cat lay on the table. An orange, heart-shaped marking covered its back.

Several café cats stood around it, including Xiaobao the serval.

All of them looked slightly wary and cautious.

So that unfamiliar white-and-orange cat was Lu Yun’s pet, Nuomi?

“Boss.”

I walked over.

“Good afternoon~”

“Xiaoxue.”

Lu Yun looked a little surprised to see me.

“Why’d you switch to a skirt this time?”

“Doesn’t it look good?”

I held the hem and twirled in place.

“You’re the one who told me to dress cutely.”

“It looks good. Of course it does. Girls really do look cuter in skirts.”

Lu Yun smiled, then glanced at his phone.

“You’re twelve minutes early.”

“That’s fine. Didn’t you say you still had to go to the airport? Consider this compensation.”

I unceremoniously sat between the two of them, then glanced at the white cat.

“Is that Nuomi?”

“Yeah. I plan to board her here for a while.”

Lu Yun held out his hand.

The white cat obediently walked over and jumped into his arms.

“I don’t have many cat-loving friends in Vanilla City.”

“I couldn’t bear to sell her, so I wanted to see if I could find somewhere to board her.”

He held the white cat with great tenderness and expertly scratched beneath her chin.

“Yesterday, Li Changji happened to mention that you’d delivered food to him.”

“This place was on the way, so I came to take a look and found out it was a cat café.”

“I just talked with him for a while,” Lin Ruilong chimed in.

“He’s the client you mentioned before, right? The one who hired you several times?”

“He’s quite interesting.”

“Interesting?”

I looked puzzled.

“Has our mighty Boss Lin… taken a liking to him?”

“No, no. That’s not what I meant by interesting.”

Lin Ruilong shrugged and rose from his seat.

“He’s your boss now. You two can talk.”

“If you want anything, just call a server.”

“Mm…”

I watched Lin Ruilong return to the counter, then turned back to Lu Yun.

I couldn’t help asking, “Why’d you suddenly quit your job?”

“And now you’re heading to the airport. You’re even abandoning your kitty?”

“Yeah…”

Lu Yun hesitated for a moment.

“I’m going to Tiandu.”

Tiandu was one of the Skyflame Nation’s three centrally administered cities.

It covered 2,200 square kilometers and had twelve million permanent residents in 2028.

It was the fastest-growing city in the Skyflame Nation.

It also had the fiercest job market and the most opportunities.

It was over four hundred kilometers from Vanilla City.

In my previous world, it would’ve ranked alongside Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

But the question was…

Why would Lu Yun suddenly want to go somewhere like Tiandu?

The average salary was high, and there were plenty of jobs.

But the cost of living was absurdly high too.

Countless migrant workers went to Tiandu every year.

They fought until they were battered and bruised, only to slink home and return to their old jobs.

Did Lu Yun’s parents have connections in Tiandu?

Had they arranged a job for him?

“I want to test myself.”

Lu Yun probably noticed the confusion in my eyes, so he took the initiative to explain.

“The world out there is huge.”

“I want to try… fighting for something more.”

“Oh…”

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

Honestly, Lu Yun’s previous job had been stable enough for most ordinary people.

Housing in Vanilla City’s Nagi District wasn’t particularly expensive either.

He earned over six thousand a month, with room for promotions and raises.

He could comfortably save for five or six years, then put a down payment on an apartment.

If he owned a place and married a girl willing to repay the mortgage with him, life would be incredibly easy.

But everyone had different values and worldviews.

Some people didn’t like peaceful, uneventful lives.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to venture out, see the world, and test themselves.

As Lu Yun’s “temporary girlfriend,” I didn’t think I needed to lecture him about risks or quitting carefully.

Lu Yun was already twenty-three.

If he really was born in the Year of the Dog, then he’d been born in 2006.

The coming year, 2030, would be his zodiac year—the Year of the Dog.

He was a grown man. He should understand the consequences of his decision.

“I see…”

I nodded.

“Have you already bought your plane ticket?”

“Yeah. Boarding’s a little after five.”

Lu Yun looked slightly embarrassed.

“When I brought Nuomi over, I talked to the manager about you.”

“I learned you’d recently started working here.”

“Your status on Calico Cat said you were free, so I placed an order while I was at it.”

“Oh?”

I deliberately put on a playful tone.

“Is there something you want to tell me before you leave?”

“There is…”

As he spoke, Lu Yun opened the bag beside him.

He took out an exquisitely wrapped, flat box and opened it.

Then he pulled out a green outfit.

“I’m a pretty stereotypical straight guy.”

“I’ve barely talked to girls, so I don’t know whether you’ll like it.”

“This is…”

I accepted the beautifully packaged outfit and briefly examined its decorations.

“Yoshino?”

Just as I’d said, it was a Yoshino cosplay outfit—or perhaps an outfit inspired by her.

It hadn’t been unfolded, so I couldn’t tell exactly what it looked like.

All I could see was a hood with two green rabbit ears.

The colors and patterns immediately reminded me of Yoshino from Date A Live.

“Yeah. They’re pajamas. I had a factory custom-make them.”

Lu Yun pointed at the pink characters on the rabbit ears.

They spelled “Xin” and “Xue” in a cute, childlike font.

“I-I hope you’ll like them.”

“They’re for me?”

I thought of the sheer pajamas I’d worn in the dorm for ages.

Jiang Yuqing often teased me that the two big “bunnies” on my chest were completely visible through them.

“Were they expensive?”

“Not really.”

Under the café’s dim lights, Lu Yun seemed almost afraid to look at me.

“I think you have a lot in common with Yoshino…”